Month: September 2017

September 29, 2017

The wonderful Shepherds Inn (possibly offering us the best beef in a sandwich at a business lunch ever) in Carlisle, hosted the most recent Carlisle Ambassadors event this time it showcased food in and around the City.

By bringing together the diverse membership of the Ambassadors with Food and Drink businesses from across our area, it offered the members a taste of some of the fine products available from Lakeland Mues Muesli, Carlisle Brewery’s fine collection of ales, Two White Hats seasoning mixes, Grasmere Gingerbread, biscuits from COM-FOR-T, sausages from Pioneer, rhubarb crumble gin from Solway Spirits, to scones made with fresh herbs from Helens Herbs and many more. It also gave the members an opportunity to think about how important this sector is to the City.

The food sector not only offers long term employment from transgenerational family firms, whether this is from the smaller food producer with a global reach such as Grasmere Gingerbread, who at over a 170 years has an impressive array of international customers or Pioneer Foods at almost 150 years old that plays an essential part in the food supply chain across the City, SW Scotland and the North of England. The food sector also encourages the growth of innovative new businesses either rural (Lakeland Mues), urban (COM-FOR-T), Carlisle based (Carlisle Brewery) or from across the border (Solway Spirits).

From our stand we (Thomas Jardine & Co) asked attendees how they could either support this sector, or as a Food and Drink producer, what type of support they wanted from other businesses. The answers were illuminating and we will share these at another time, perhaps for now you could ask yourself the same questions…either as a non-food business what could you do for Food and Drink Producers near you, or as a Food and Drink Producer, what could you gain (or want) from working with businesses or experts near to you? Any thoughts please tweet us @thomasjardineco or email: [email protected]

September 4, 2017

Chatting with Peter Sidwell at his Simply Good Food HQ in Keswick reminded us of all the great things that are currently happening in and around Cumbrian food.

When Peter started his cooking career in Keswick he was seen as revolutionary because he used local produce. His entrepreneurial flair continues today with his Simply Good Food TV channel looking to reach 1,000,000 download figures and clips of the channel now showing on screens on the London Underground. Just as Peter has diversified and grown his business, so the Food and Drink sector in Cumbria has evolved to include multinational food manufacturers, regional and national food producers and smaller artisanal food and drink producers with healthy export markets in place.

Local food is now not just about the local food markets, although they still play an important part in raising the profile of our awesome local food producers. Many of our larger local food retailers and hospitality businesses focus on the great food and drink producers in and around the county. Just check out some of our great local retailers such as Low Sizergh Barn in the south of the county, Westmorland on the M6 and Cranston’s in the north. Or look at the wholesalers such as Caterite and Pioneer Foodservice both of which do sterling work in supporting our burgeoning food sector, acting as a vital link between our local food and drink producers and the consumer.

All these food businesses large and small are doing their bit to raise the standard of Cumbrian food and drinks and in doing so are creating a growing vibrant food economy for our region. They are creating new opportunities for employment in the food sector as well as the many service businesses that support it from hospitality; to accountants; to social media experts, to web designers; to photographers; to graphic designers; to packaging and box businesses to HR experts and so many more.

Food has always been an integral part of the Cumbrian economy and we as consumers have an opportunity to become part of its rebirth. So this weekend why not go and try that independent café or restaurant that you’ve always fancied visiting. If you’re not going out, why not try one of the many local ales that are now brewed in your county or one of the local jams or coffees produced here. You might just like what you try and then you too can become part of the Cumbrian food revolution.